Kick Technique

[Bunny Knutson]

OK, Dendy Jarrett, and all you drum experts out there:

 

I play heel-up on the kick pedal most of the time. I only play heel down when the music is quiet or jazzy.

 

For most of the music I play, mostly rock/pop/funk stuff, I like my kick to go "thud" rather than "bong." (no bong jokes, please) I also keep a thick wool blanket inside the kick for this purpose.

 

When I hit the kick, I keep the mallet against the head after the hit. I have heard elsewhere that the proper technique is to bounce the mallet off the head, never letting it rest against the head. This "bounce" technique doesn't jibe with the sound I'm after; it sounds more like a jazz technique, by which the kick is allowed to ring out like a tom. The only time I let the mallet bounce off the head is when I'm playing fast notes, like 16th notes, in which case there is simply no time to let it rest, anyway.

 

Rambling. Get to the question, dude.

 

Am I using "bad technique" with my preferred kick style? Should I try to change my technique for some reason? What reason(s)?

 

Or should I just shut-the-hell-up and play the friggin' drums like I normally do?

 

OK, guys, rake me over the proverbial coals.

[rebonn]

Well I would say whatever is most comfortable. Although I find it hard to see how standing on a 2x4 under the ball of your foot is more comfortable than standing on a flat surface. It seems to me it's sorta like hitting a drum with only your hands and not using any arm movement.

Again, I'd say whatever is most comfortable.

Remember when they used to tie the left arm down of left handed people to make them use their right hand and arm. Never worked. It's a brain thing.

I believe the sound is much better if your able to release the beater from the head just like you play the rest of the drums.

You generally wouldn't keep the stick on the head after you hit it. You get the same sound effect on the bass as the other drums when you keep the beater on the haed.

Although if you stuff a wool blanket in the bass drum, there's not going to be much of a difference anyway.

[AlanThomas]

I would say, do whatever works for you. If you like the sound that your kick drum produces with your current technique, and you feel that you can perform the music that you play to your satisfaction, why jack with it? If it works, don't fix it...

 

As for myself, I play mostly with my heel up, though when playing something soft and at a slow tempo I'll rest it.

 

I allow the beater to rebound just as you would the stick when playing the other drums and even the cymbals.

 

I use tuning and preparation of the kick drum to achieve a sound quality and tonality appropriate to the music being played and to whether it's being played live or for a recording session (where tuning and prep often changes from song to song).

[joeq]

If you "bury" your beater into the head it will take that much longer for you to get the beater up and ready to make the next hit. also you will be relying on the spring in the pedal rather than your "kick" to bring it back up- slowing you down even further.

 

If you don't play a lot of fast stuff on the kick then keep your style- but if you want a fast foot you will have to modify your technique.

 

I know because I used to do the same thing- there is a certain "sound" that you get leaving the beater down- it acts to muffle the ring of the kick drum. It sounds more powerful or something. But you can get the same sound with the right heads, and the right damping.

[rickdior]

I have a some foot technique material on my site that might help. Go to www.AcousticBarn.com and hit the Ricks percussion page link. Go to lessons and scroll down to foot technique. Hope it helps

Rick

[djarrett]

joeq is correct. "planting" the beater into the head will cause you to drag in the meter of the song.

Think about it for a minute. The beater is left on the head, so in anticipation for the next stroke, you must retract the beater and then strike again, verses a pop and withdrawel from the head during a stroke, which leaves the beater cocked and ready for the next hit.

 

Additionally, planting the beater will mute the natural reverb of the drum. If you are playing concert bass drum, if you hit the big drum with the beater and leave it against the head, it will naturally mute. If you hit and withdraw, you will have a great resonance. Now, if you are looking to have a choked sound, then planting is appropriate.

 

Hope this helps,

DJ

[Lee Flier]

dj,

 

So what you're trying to say is that "planting" the beater in the head sounds like "fertilizer"?

[rebonn]

Originally posted by djarrett:

[QB]

pop and withdrawel from the head during a stroke, which leaves the beater cocked and ready for the next hit.

[AlanThomas]

Originally posted by djarrett:

..."planting" the beater into the head will cause you to drag in the meter of the song.

I can't say that I agree. Planting the beater may cause you to drag the meter of the song but, I think, only if you already have a problem with meter.

 

The hi-hat is good example: You routinely "plant" the top cymbal into the bottom one. No problem maintaining meter there...

 

AT

[Bunny Knutson]

Great responses so far, guys! Thank you for the input.

 

Apparently, I should try to alter my kick technique, for purposes of better tone and a faster foot. OK, I'll give it a try, letting the mallet bounce. One thing I will say is that I don't think my "planting" technique messes with my meter at all. I've practiced to a metronome and my kicks are right on the beat. But I will try the bouncing technique; it really does make sense from a theoretical standpoint. I mean, I wouldn't rest a stick against a tom after hitting it!

 

This leads me to my next question.

 

A few of you have noted that I should use preparation, tuning, and even specific heads to acheive the kick sound I'm after, rather than my incorrect technique.

 

Alan Thomas wrote:

"I use tuning and preparation of the kick drum to achieve a sound quality and tonality appropriate to the music being played and to whether it's being played live or for a recording session..."

Joeq wrote:

"... you can get the same sound with the right heads, and the right damping."

Anyone care to elaborate on these points?

 

Thanks again!

[joeq]

OK you are forcing me to think here (ouch)- to back up my offhand statement with some specifics. Let's see...

 

The way I think of the sound of "burying" or "planting" the beater is sort of like the sound of being punched with a boxing glove. There's a pop and a stop. So if you want to mimic that sound you need to kill some of the resonance. The EQ 3 heads with some extra damping like a pillow or that bag thingie that lifts off and then drops back down (?) might do the trick.

 

Digging into the head also detunes the head upwards- that might be harder to fake, but making the front head a little higher than the batter side would create a rising tone following the hit.

 

Personally I am loving the EQ3's with _no extra damping these days, but that's just me. There are so many options in heads and treatments out there. Buy a few different kinds of things and experiment. It won't be wasted money because even if something you buy isn't what you are really looking for, it WILL come in handy Some day on Some song in Some recording session or gig.

[djarrett]

Ok, Alan:

I guess I should chose my words with more care.

I guess one would think I was talking to LEE FLIER!!!

Yet I digress.

 

Hey, Lee: Love your avatar!

 

I stand by my thoughts on bass drum technique, however .. . this is my choice. My technique. I have seen some great players that use the heel-up technique.

 

If it works for you ... great!!

Remember, We as a society get fixated on the way we have always seen things done. Someone comes along and plays with a totally radical technique of set-up and we freak out.

 

If they are great at playing with a different techinque of set-up, ... more power to um.

 

DJ